US2663951A

US2663951A - Vehicle drier

Info

Publication number: US2663951A
Application number: US294857A
Authority: US
Inventors: Everett B Kennison
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1952-06-21
Filing date: 1952-06-21
Publication date: 1953-12-29
Anticipated expiration: 1970-12-29

Description

Dec. 29, 1953 E. a KENNISON 2,663,951

VEHICLE DRIEP Filed June 21, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. [Ff/@177 5. lif Y/Y/JOA/ Dec. 29, 1953 E. B. KEINNISON VEHICLE DRIER Filed June 21, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. fvixae-rr' a. dzw/v/salv sity of altering the enclosure. The top of the bridge is provided with a novel arrangement of slots which are adapted to dispel forced hot air against the top of the vehicle as it passes beneath the top of the bridge. These slots efiiciently push the water from the top of the vehicle to the sides thereof. As the water is moved from the top of the vehicle, it is engaged by a stream of hot air from a series of outlets arranged one above another on each side portion of the bridge and is progressively blasted down the sides and off the vehicle. The small particles of water which remain on the vehicle are heated by the hot air blasts and will evaporate to the extent that there is relativelylittle to do in the finish dry operation.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is disclosed in the drawings wherein the number It generally indicates the bridge structure. The path of the vehicle is toward the viewer in Figure 1 of the drawings and to the left in Figure 2 of the drawings. The bridge It includes the supports I2 and I 4 and the top platform 16 mounted thereon. The supports are held in position by any suitable means such as the angle irons is. Since the drier will usually be located within an enclosure having a concrete floor, these angle irons can be fastened to the floor by conventional anchor bolts (not shown). A blower wheel 20 is positioned centrally above the platform 15 and is aflixed to the shaft 22 which is rotatably coupled with the electric motor 24. The electric motor 24 is seated on the support 25 which in turn is affixed to the platform 5. The blower wheel 20 is enclosed in the blower housing 28 which is open at each end so that the blower wheel may draw air into both sides of the said housing. The blower housing 28 is also open at the bottom and the portion of the blower housing 28 adjacent the open bottom fits over the neck 39 of the manifold 32. The manifold 32 extends over the top of the vehicle path and has downwardly depending

arms

34 and 36 on each side thereof.

Hot water radiators

38 and 40 are positioned on each side of the platform [6. These radiators are of conventional construction including cores or pipes 42 through which hot water is circulated and fins 44 disposed around the said cores or pipes. The blower wheel housing 28 andradiators are enclosed in a casing 46. Thus, as the blower wheel 2% is rotated by the electric motor 24, air is drawn in through the fins 44 past the hot water pipes 52 in each of the radiators 3B and 45 in the direction of the arrows, Figure 1. The resultant hot air is dispelled through the open bottom of the blower wheel housing 28 into the manifold 32 in the direction of the arrows, Figure 1.

The portion of the manifold 32 which is disposed above the vehicle path includes three outlets 48, G, and 52 each of which is formed of a pair of slots joined at their central portions to form a chevron or V-shaped configuration. It will be noted in Figure 2 of the drawings that these outlets are tilted so that the apex of the chevron is slightly higher than the other portions. It has been found that this particular arrangement of the outlets will actually cause the forced hot air to push the water from the central portion of the top of the vehicle to the sides thereof in the same manner that the bow of a boat will spread the water to the sides of the hull as the boat is moved through the water. This arrangement has proven extremely efficient and is much more suitable than any arrangement of straight blowerslots disposed above the vehicle top. The first outlet 52 eliminates the large concentrations of water, and the second outlet 50 and third outlet 48 remove the remaining small particles of water so that the top is nearly completely dry after the vehicle has passed beneath these outlets.

Figure 5 demonstrates another embodiment of the top air outlet arrangement wherein the slots are disposed at any angle one to the other to form forced

air outlets

48a, 59a, and 52a wherein the slots overlap but do not join. This arrangement has also proven highly efficient in moving the water from the top of the vehicle.

As previously explained, the manifold 32 is provided with downwardly depending

arms

34 and 36. Each of these arms is provided with the vents 54 and baiiles 56 so that the forced air from the manifold 32 is blasted directly against the sides of the vehicle at a downward angle. The vents 55 in each

arm

34 and 36 are arranged one above the other so that as the water is moved from the top of the vehicle it is passed progressively downward and off the bottom of the vehicle body. By directing the air stream from each vent 54 inwardly and downwardly, the water is passed down the side of the vehicle and the air stream from each vent supplements the air stream of the next highest vent. The vents 54 are disposed so that they provide a direct blast into the side of the car and face downwardly at an angle sufficient to pass the water rapidly down the sides of the car. Itwill be noted that the uppermost vents 54 are inclined at a greater angle (Figure 1) than the lower vents. This permits all the air streams to hit the side surfaces of the vehicle at substantially the same angle. The inward slant of the upper portions of the manifold arms 34 and 35 conforms substantially to the taper which is present in the canopy or upper section of modern automobile bodies.

Referring to Figure 2 of the drawings, it will be noted that the vents 5d are longest near the midpoint of the downwardly depending manifold

arms

34 and 36, and the vents 545 near the upper and lower ends thereof are shorter. This arrangement is provided because the largest streams of air are needed around the windows of the vehicle at the point where the main body section joins the canopy of the vehiclesince at these points there are various places where the water can accumulate. In addition, the upper vent Ed on each manifold arm 3 and S6 is disposed closely adjacent the ends of the outlets t8, 5% and 52 so that the outlets and vents provide a combined forced air action in removing water from the top drain through which run along most modern vehicles above the doors and along each side of the top.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the drier of the present invention provides a unique and efficient control of forced hot air to dry a vehicle which has been washed and rinsed. The drier eliminates all the rough dry men, which may be from two to eight depending upon the size and speed of the particular system, and from two to six finish dry men, since a single man or two men at most can quickly run a cloth over the surface of the vehicle after it has been dried by the drier of the present invention to provide a thoroughly dry vehicle.

Although but a single embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it is obvious that many changes may be made in the size, shape, detail and arrangement of the various elements of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A drier adapted to be disposed over and adjacent the path of a vehicle which has been washed and rinsed, comprising a bridge having a top extending above the path and a pair of upright supports disposed one on each side of the path, a forced air manifold disposed adjacent the top of said bridge and having downwardly depending arms adjacent said supports, the portion of the manifold adjacent the top of the bridge having air discharge means adapted to expel air against the top of the vehicle, a plurality of vented baiiies extending from said downwardly depending arms one above another and directed inwardly and downwardly so that water from the top of the vehicle will be passed progressively downward along the sides of the vehicle and off the bottom thereof as air is expelled from said vented baflies,

the upper portions of said arms slanting inwardly so that air from all the vented bafiies strike the adjacent vehicle surface at substantially the same angle, and a source of forced air coupled with said air discharge means and said vented bafiies, said vented baffles near the top and bottom of the said downwardly depending manifold arms having smaller openings than the vented baflies near the central portion of said downwardly depending manifold arms to provide an efficient control and distribution of the air.

2. A drier adapted to be disposed over and adjacent the path of a vehicle which has been washed and rinsed, comprising a bridge having a top extending above the path and a pair of supports disposed one on each side of the path, a forced air manifold disposed adjacent the top of said bridge and having downwardly depending arms adjacent the said supports, a plurality of vented baflles extending inwardly and down;- wardly from said downwardly depending arms, the portion of said manifold adjacent the topof the bridge having a pair of slots therein which diverge in the direction of travel of the vehicle and extend substantially the full width of the manifold, said diverging slots being adapted to expel forced air therethrough to efficiently move water from the top of the vehicle rearwardly and to the sides thereof where it is moved downward along the sides by the said vented baflies, and a source of forced air coupled with said slots and vented bafiies, said manifold having its sides bowed downwardly from its central portion enabling said slots to follow the contour of a vehicle and remove water from areas where it tends to accumulate.

3. A drier adapted to be disposed over and adjacent the path of a vehicle which has been washed and rinsed, comprising a bridge having a top extending above the path and a pair of supports disposed one on each side of the path, a forced air manifold disposed adjacent the top of said bridge and having downwardly depending arms adjacent the said supports, a plurality of vertically spaced air vents provided in the inner surface of said arms, said vents being of varying size, the portion of said manifold adjacent the top of the bridge having a plurality of substantially V-shaped slots therein arranged so that the apex of each V-shaped slot extends opposite to the direction of travel 'of the vehicle, said V- shaped slots being adapted to expel forced air therethrough to efficiently move water from the top of the vehicle to the sides thereof where it is subjected to a stream of forced air from said vents, and a source of forced air coupled with said manifold.

4. A drier adapted to be disposed over and adjacent the path of a vehicle which has been washed and rinsed, comprising a bridge having a top extending above the path and a pair of supports disposed one on each side of the path, a forced air manifold disposed adjacent the top of said bridge and having downwardly depending arms adjacent the said supports, a plurality of air vents provided in said downwardly depending arms, the portion of said manifold adjacent the top of the bridge having a plurality of air discharge outlets, each of said outlets comprising a pair of separate diverging slots which diverge in the direction of travel of the vehicle, said slots overlapping in their converging direction said diverging slots being adapted to expel forced air therethrough to efiiciently move water from the top of the vehicle to the sides thereof where it is subjected to a stream of forced air from said vents, and a source of forced air coupled with said manifold.

5. A drier adapted to be disposed over and adjacent the path of a vehicle which has been washed and rinsed, comprising a bridge having a top extending above the path and a pair of supports disposed one On each side of the path, a forced air manifold disposed adjacent the top of said bridge and having downwardly depending arms adjacent the said supports, a plurality of vented baflies extending from said downwardly depending arms one above another and directed inwardly and downwardly, the portion of said manifold adjacentthe top of the bridge being provided with a plurality of discharge outlets, each of said outlets comprising a pair of separate, overlapping, but non-joining diverging slots which diverge in the direction of travel of the vehicle, said diverging slots being adapted to expel forced air therethrough to efiiciently move water from the top of the vehicle to the sides thereof where it is moved downward along the sides by the said vented bafiles, and a source of forced air coupled with said manifold.

6. A drier according to claim 5 wherein the portlon of the manifold containin the diverging slots is tilted so that the points of greatest divergence extend downward further than the other portion of said slots.

EVERETT B. KENNISON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name 1,140,873 Carter May 1915 1,756,965 Zademach May s 1930 1,934,494 Gillespie Nov. 7 1933 2,073,669 Zademach Mar. 16 1937 2,440,157 Rousseau Apr. 20 1948 2,448,834 Rousseau Sept. '7 1948 2,596,800 Webb May 13: 1952